How to Draw a Robot Dragon, Mecha Dragon

STEP 1.

1.Okay, so want to learn how to draw a dragon mecha! Well there are few things I'll need to point out first before we begin!
First-off is Structure! Everything in the world is built up from basic shapes, Circles, Ovals, Ellipses, Rectangles, Triangles, Trapezoids and many more, but without lines to connect them you might not ever create really good objects. Using these basic shapes and lines together we are able to create amazing objects.
Take this cola can for instance; It is made up of Circles, Ovals/Ellipses and a few straight Lines. By themselves, they aren't much to look at, but once they are put together they create a pretty impressive object! Simple right, but how do you get from a bunch of Lines and Shapes to something like a Dragon Mecha? Well follow along and I'll show you!

STEP 2.

2.What you'll need is a plan and resources to get you started, so grab anything that you can find. Pics of Dragons and other animals, Machines (inside and out), Buildings, things in Nature, Lego building blocks(Especially ones from the Technic series) those are really helpful! These Items will come in handy later!
Now think about what type of dragon you want to draw. A Land Mech, a Sea Mech, or maybe a Sky Mech! Once you have which type you want to draw, you can move on to the next step. For this Tutorial we'll go with a Sky Mech! We'll need to first start by creating a Skeleton for our dragon, just follow the steps, it's easy!

STEP 3.

3.That's not bad! See how easy that was, now we have a skeleton we can build upon and we used a lot of the lines and basic shapes I spoke of earlier! Now since this is going to be a Whelp Mecha, I'll need to build it's body mass up like that of a baby dragon.
Now we go to our resources to find a picture of a baby dragon, if we don't already know what one looks like! Look at it's features, is it chubby, slender, or a little muscular, maybe it's a combination of all three. Above all else the dragons body features must be a lot shorter than that of an adult. These are the things you must keep in mind to represent one correctly as a Mecha! Now start bulking up your skeleton (Keeping in mind the dragons muscle structure when building it up. Do you want it to look more machine-like or organic?).
The more machine-like you want it to be- the more rigid your lines and shapes need to be. It' just the opposite for organic machines, where you'll need to concentrate more on making smoother shapes and curved lines! We'll go with an organic look for this dragon.

STEP 4.

4.We'll create with round curvy-type shapes. You want to give an impression of metallic muscle when working on an organic Mecha, so try to pay close attention to that especially when working on the legs, chest and back!
Draw circles or ovals on both sides where certain body parts will bend, like around the wrists, forearms, hind or lower parts of the legs and wing sections. When drawing spikes for your dragon, it's best (in my opinion) to round-out the sharp ends, unless they're to be used as weapons!

STEP 5.

5.Keep going, We're almost there! Add Lines and shapes to further define your dragon. With this dragon I wanted to put emphasize on it's flight capabilities, so instead of just plane old wings that flap, I made them into thrusters whose feather-like protrusions fan out from the side, also added some boosters for extra thrust on the tail-end for extra impact. Simple additions like these can make your creations more impressive, so long as you don't over do it!

STEP 6.

6.Sometimes, if not often, your not going to like your first attempt at this! Remember it's part of the learning process. You WILL get better at this the more you practice! I was not liking the way her mouth was looking and those spikes on her head weren't too flattering either.
Those spikes were really bothering me, I wanted something that would convey the idea of machine more, so I started thinking. What do machines have on, or in them? Spikes (rarely), exhaust pipes (alright, but too generic), screws (yeah, it's different, but could work), then it hit me, Cogs! (Those scream machine!). So I swapped out the spikes for the cog design and added some minor details to the wings and viola, I'm finally satisfied, now all that's left is to finalize it with some nice crisp lines!

STEP 7.

7.Now comes the best part... CUSTOMIZE THAT BABY!! Start adding in little details, exhaust holes for steam, or smoke to spew out from. Nose holes, ventilation grates, anything you can think of to help breathe life into your dragon.
If you find it too hard to come up with on your own, take a look at your resources to draw inspiration, It's what they're there for! Draw extra lines on objects that look to flat to give those parts a sense of depth and dimension. Make sure you remember to round-off your sharp edges since this is suppose to be an organic-looking dragon. Too many sharp objects could conflict with the overall harmony of the smoother shapes!
Notice how I rounded-off the edges of the cogs coming out of her head. Now they blend in more with the rest of the shapes in the image. The claws are fine, since they can be used as weapons, serve a purpose.

STEP 8.

8.Round-out those shoulders don't forget to accent those moving parts. Think rubber insulation, or springs, things that bend. Robots usually have some type of insulation protecting delicate parts in that region. Also define those forearms, think screws, nut and bolts! Things that hold parts together, a few here and there usually fitted around heavy parts.

STEP 9.

9.Almost done, that's looking pretty good so far! Keep adding details. You may want add things like small holes, or grates that allows a person to look inside at vital parts or circuitry.
Objects furthest from view usually don't need to be too detailed unless they are meant to draw a persons attention to it, in which case it should be placed in the foreground of the image somewhere.

STEP 10.

10.Congratulations, your hard work has finally paid-off! You made it through to the very end and now I hope you have a better understanding of how to approach the often-times very frustrating concept of drawing Dragon Mecha.
Remember to use all of the resources at your disposal! The Internet is the best way to find research material for anything you need help with! Follow all of the steps in this tutorial and you'll be on your way to creating BIGGER more complex Mechas in no time! PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!
I hope this tutorial was helpful to you all! ~KenshinEien~

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